Spiritual Foundations

Yesterday I realized that I am already feeling the spiritual foundations of Tranquil Moon. Restless, and somewhat "off center" but not really in a funk, I suggested lunch at our campsite. Fifteen minutes after arriving, I felt calmer and pre-serene.

One of my objectives as we move on is to design a "decompression chamber" where I can go and drop off all my baggage when I arrive home from school . . . I want to keep the rest of Tranquil Moon just that . . . tranquil. I want to preserve that quietness, that sereneness, that connectedness to the planet I feel when I'm there.

Spiritually, I feel connected to the goddess again. I have a place that's mine. A place where the goddess and I can be who we are and a place I can share with Jay and be who we are. It seems like a long walk in the desert has ended, finally.

I do worry about the financial part of getting everything done, but I know it will come as it is supposed to and in that I find peace and comfort. Having the campsite makes me feel attached to the land already . . . the bond will only strengthen as we progress on our list of things which need to be done.

Until next time . . .

Clearing the brush...

Flickr Tags: clearing, brush, rose bushes, Cara, Clear Pasture, front of property, electric, utilities, creek bed, tree

Yesterday Cara and I went out to the property to have lunch and begin working with our new purchase, Clear Pasture. This product is supposed to kill anything so we've mixed it with diesel and we're applying it to all the rose bushes. With luck we'll be able to kill out most of the bushes and get ready for the skid steer to clear them.

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I now have pics of the front of the property. You can see the daunting task we have ahead of us. The entire area is a mass of thickets, rose briars, and yaupon trees. If you look really hard, at the center of the pic, you can see the creek bed that flows through part of the property. Okay, you can't really see it, but it's there. One day it will be clear and you'll be able to see a beautifully landscaped creek bed.

Here's another beauty. Hidden in this mess of yaupon and briar is a really nice tree. The one Cara is spraying at the top photo has already been cleared; it looked like this one. This one is at the opening of the creek bed at the front of the property and will have to be cleared as well. I'll tackle it when I start working on the creek bed.

I've talked before about the roses, at the front right of the property, that'll have to be cleared out to make way for the electric utilities, well here they are. We're using the Clear Pasture mix to kill off this set of bushes and, hopefully, I'll be able to use the skid steer in a couple of weeks to clear the brush for the electric pole.

One step at a time!!

Dreamin'

Flickr Tags: Clear Pasture, rose bushes, clearing, briars, birthday, picnic table, spraying

Jay is off to a meeting this morning . . . his 55th birthday!  Yesterday I had set aside money for a gift, although we keep telling each other that our three acres is all we want.  Then I promptly lost $75 in cash!  After slapping myself about a dozen times, I realized the Goddess was, again, at work.  Someone needed that money more than we did.  So, I blessed it off on its journey to wherever and whomever.  When I told Jay, he said he agreed and appeared to not be disappointed in the least.  The Goddess seems to be opening doors that have been closed to us for these last seven years.  I feel like our saga has turned a crucial corner and we are finally beginning to mark progress again.

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When Jay returns today, we're going to Lowe's to get the materials for building a picnic table.  We plan to carve our initials and the date in it when it's finished . . . just like teenagers!  It will be a much welcome addition to our campsite . . . no longer balancing plates on our laps etc.  Everything requires me to bend over!  I'm pooped.

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We've also found this chemical called Clear Pasture which will totally destroy the briars.  It takes a few weeks to get to the roots, but it will render them dead!  Then the skid-steer will just push them into a HUGE pile for burning.  I've read the contents and cautions; it has minimal short-term residual effects and isn't dangerous to us or our babies.  I prefer natural substances, but to use an out-dated expression from the 60's "better living through chemistry" sometimes!

Till next time . . .

The Briars Fought . . . But I Won!

Flickr Tags: camping, camp site, front of property, drainage pipe

Jay will be soooooo proud that I'm finally doing an entry! I pretty much am ready to retire, so I have time to do the FUN things I WANT to do instead of the teaching things I no longer want to do! One more year until retirement . . . maybe. A new administrator would certainly help change my viewpoint.

Christmas Day was my first work day on Tranquil Moon. In the area where we plan to put the RV (and later put a house or mobile home), I tackled the wild roses/briars. I'm scratched from head to foot, had to pick stickers out of my boobs, but I destroyed two of the big ones. Jay can now turn the truck into the end of the lot, although the drainage pipe appears to be too unstable for him to drive over as yet. We've discussed getting someone to dig it out and replacing it. $$$$$ but better done by a professional than us probably.

I think we've decided to put the front-to-back road in on the other side of the property, near the neighbors. Will have to do some measuring and planning, but I think it will work. Right now, I think I will probably put a full line of giant arbor vitae trees along their fence for privacy when those awful wild roses are gone. The trees will spread about 10 feet around, so I need to measure and see if there will be enough room between the trees and the new electrical installation for a driveway. I'm getting uncomfortable going on the other neighbors' land to access our campsite.

I want to clean out the area across the front that faces the road. It looks like there are two or three really nice trees in there, but the rest just looks like junk. Not the first impression I want to make! I'm thinking about putting huge pampas grass in the open spots between the trees after the clean-up is finished. Privacy, but a neat, care-for look.

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We've gotten a "permanent" campsite set up so we have a place to literally hang our hats when we're working. A bright yellow tent is the "supply house" for dry goods, clothes, and tools on-site. The gray tent, my ol' buddy from LOR days!, provides us a place to nap and eat. I really enjoy being there. I do love that cold Sam at the end of a work day. Can hardly wait for the outdoor shower to come!!!!

Yesterday we took the riding mower and push mower out to the site. Jay left them chained. I used the riding mower to cut a walking path from the RV site to our camp site. It looks good and will make walking easier. We also got a glimpse of our first feral kitten . . . Jay named him/her Wood Chip!

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This morning Dusty when for her "clip, clip, clip" at Adopt-A-Pet. I checked and they will do neutering from a live-trap. When we stopped at this cool feed store to price the spray killer for the rest of those rose bushes, I found that a live-trap will only cost about $60.00. I'm determined to be a TNR woman! The wife of the well man said something about 60 cats . . . they are clearly taming and not neutering! AGH! GNASH! I will spend a fortune over time to trap, neuter, and release the little lovelies, but I am determined to be a "responsible" person where they clearly haven't been.

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Talked to Beverly at New First yesterday about the well money. Looks like the lower appraisal is going to hit us in the head. 90% of the appraisal amount is the loan amount. Now we need $600 for the electric installation and another $600 as our share of the well installation. We can't move the RV until those two are on-site and ready to use. At first I was very disappointed, but then I realized the land isn't going anywhere . . . it really is ours! . . . and I can handle the $110/month payments and still afford rent to Cynthia. We'll enjoy having somewhere to go and work and be together; we'll still get that "good tired; we dun it" feeling. Next big cost project . . . a day of skid-steer around $250 to see if we can level those bloody wild roses/briars! One way or the other, they are doomed!

We also need to find the sunny spot for Jay's salsa garden and outdoor kitchen. He announced this morning that he plans to put plants in the ground this spring.

Until next time . . .

Camping & Clearing on Yule

Flickr Tags: Tranquil Moon, woods, clearing, wood chipper, Yule, Christmas, burn pile, camping

The day after the Christian holiday, Christmas - Dec. 26, 2007.  Our celebration is Yule and we got to celebrate it with a beautiful full moon camping out on our new property.  What a feat, but Cara and I had a great time though we realized we're getting a bit too old for the cold mornings.

This is our campsite on Tranquil Moon.  A good tent, a storage tent and plenty of things to keep us warm and comfortable - including Beer.  Cara and I have taken a liking to Sam Adams Brown Ale, so we treat ourselves when the work is done for the day. 

 

 

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For the last couple of days we've worked with wood chipper I rented at Home Depot for $100/day. It took a day to figure out the best way to use the wood chipper and how to use it safely. I finally learned that large limbs - roughly 2" thick and over 4' long - were too dangerous for our experience level.  Running those branches through created havoc with a swinging stick sticking out of the mouth of the monster.   Small branches worked very well, as did the rose limbs.  The large stuff we'll save for burning.  This is just one of the piles I've managed to scrape up.  This pile is up where our homesite is planned.  There's going to be a lot to burn so I may have to wait till we have water. 

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We figured out where the appraiser got stuck.  He had actually made it farther than I had when I got stuck.  That was when the Goddess intervened and convinced him of the need to appraise the property.  Here Cara is marking the area with orange tape to prevent anyone else from entering this area.  We've decided to make this area a water feature. Our goal is to dig out the area, put in a plastic tarp to cover the area, and add water type plants and a sitting area for our relaxation.  Don't know when that will happen, but it's way down the road from everything else we've got to do.

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Tranquil Moon is ours...

Flickr Tags: Watermark Moon, Tranquil Moon, well, electric, Phase 2, Phase 3, camping

Yesterday we made the closing.  After all the turmoil the land is ours.  We had turned the matter over to the Goddess after the last appraiser wouldn't give the land any value. 

To bring us up to date, the latest appraiser went onto the property and, at first, was also not going to give a value for the property.  This may have been the Goddess' intervention, but the appraiser got stuck.  And while waiting on someone to pull him out, he decided to go ahead and appraise the property anyway.  We were disappointed to learn that he only appraised the property for $6000; $3000 less than the requested price.  Unable to get the loan now for $9000 we thought the land was lost once again.  However, in a surprise turn of events, when the realtor presented the bid to the land owner, he accepted the $6000 offer.  Holly crap!!!!  We got it!!!  And at only $6000 which was actually our original offer for the land.

So now it's 12/19/07, one day after the closing.  We, and especially I, have a ton of work to do to prepare us for moving.  Today I'll get in touch with the Well guy and perhaps rent a skid-steer for this weekend.  I've got to clear out some wild rose bushes at the front of the property to get ready for the electric service.  Hopefully in a week or two we should have water and electric.

We hope to spend some time on the property camping out until we have services and are able to move the RV.  For now, I'm clearing an area for our tent and camping gear.  The area I'm working on is at the back of the property where I had originally planned for Phase 2 of the development.   

3 Acre Development Plan

Flickr Tags: New Property, acrage, 3 acres, creek bed, highlighted area, rose bushes, VEC, development

I've taken the satellite view of our property and highlighted the areas I've laid out as our newest phase 3 plan for development. Within the yellow highlighted area is the 3 acre piece of property we're interested in. The red line to the left is a dry creek bed. Water flow in the creek is due to spill-off and drainage of the pond from the adjacent property - the horseshoe shaped dark circle. The blue highlighted area is our initial home site. There is an old road that used to pass through the property before Mission Valley Acres Road was put in. That old road has an in-ground culvert that permits a bridged road over the creek bed in the highlighted area and allows water flow to run under the road. I have walked the entire area and a layer of rock on the ground surface is evidence of where the water has flowed in the past. Our development area is well to the right of that rock cropping so I feel we will not be affected by drainage from the pond. I have had VEC out to engineer the electric service and that is planned within the blue highlighted dot on the front right of the property, well away from the creek bed. The major concern has been that the creek bed will hinder our development of the property. I don't feel that it will. The creek bed is within only the front left 1/4 acre and is limited, as evidenced by a rocky ground surface, to the area of the flow. The remaining acreage is heavily wooded and will require a great deal of work to clear, however a large swath of rose bushes - seen in the light green highlighted area - is the greatest part of the coverage. Those will be taken out using a rose killer and a skid-steer. The front of the property is primarily maples and yaupon tree clumpings. A good bit of hard work, a lot of blood and sweat, and a wood chipper will clear that area. The later building development - our eventual home - will be towards the back of the property, well away from the dry creek bed. I also intend to make use of the creek bed in our landscaping creating a distinctive trail through the woods. I expect the development cost to run well under $10,000. The well should be approximately $4000 as quoted by the well company, the septic system should be around $4000 and the rest is equipment rental. We are purchasing the property for $9000 and it is currently on the tax role for $14,000. After development, I expect the property to be valued at $25,000.

Opportunities...

BuzzNet Tags: Ag credit service, appraisal, cleared area, credit, DOW Credit Union, loss, New Property, Realtor, TEDEC

Okay, now we're trying to rework the loss. We don't like this but our Realtor is working hard to see that we get the property - got to give her credit for trying. She has recommended a local Credit Union and an Ag credit service as possible loan services that might accept our 3 acres. The Credit Union is the DOW Credit Union - TEDEC. We're told they might give consideration. So on Monday we'll take our materials over to the loan officer and try anew. This time I'll take pictures of the cleared area and add them to our loan application. We'll also ask that an appraisal be made before we get too far into this.

Damn!!!

To back track things - this occurred on 11/21, so my update is a little behind. Things were wrapping up for our land closing. We had just one more week - 8 days. The bank proceeded with the next phase of our purchase; the appraisal. We didn't expect any problems. All was already working, the loan was approved, I had been working to clear the property, VEC had been out to plan out the electric service, and I had made contact with the water well company; no problems. Well, the appraiser went out and did a short overlook of the property and came back with "I wouldn't give $500/acre on this property." WHAT???? We were getting our loan for $3000/acre. What do you mean??? The story went that he saw the creek bed running through the property and immediately assumed the creek ran through the entire length of the property. No way, it ran through only the front 1/4 acre. I had already taken that into consideration and planned to use a road with a culvert running over the creek bed in the development. He felt. too, it would require another $20K to clear the property before it was inhabitable. Not so, I believe it will only cost my blood and sweat. He only saw the front of the property and, I believe, made assumptions on the rest. I have walked that entire piece of property and feel confident of our plans. We have been left with a dismal and depressed feeling over the sudden loss. We had been ready to move in 8 days and now this. What to do now?? We contacted another bank and was told that they would require a 25% deposit. We had planned on 10%. So with our outlook bleak we threw up our hands and walked away.

Quotation...

When you get through the ego bullshit, don't we want to stand with the beauty of our bodies, the knowledge of our minds, and the freedom of our spirits.  Okay, so you don't agree.  You want a new car.  Fine, just don't run over me and I won't stand naked in front of you.  "Walking the Trail - One Man's Journey Along the Cherokee Trail of Tears," Jerry Ellis, page 169, Delacorte Press, New York, NY.

Quotation...

...in order to understand (the) larger truths, you must first accept the smaller truths about yourself.  This requires sacrifice.  We live our lives hiding from the things that displease and discomfort us.  We reinvent ourselves and our history, constantly placing things in a light most favorable to us.  It is in the nature of mankind to this.   Mostly, our deceptions are small ones.  But they gather weight through numbers, and having them revealed all at once can be crushing.   "Ilse Witch -The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara Trilogy," page 376, Terry Brooks, Ballantine Books, New York.

Jara's & Cara's Pics

Flickr Tags: Jara, Cara, photos, pics

Figured it was a good time to bring Cara and I into the picture.  This top one is me, obviously, and as usual having bad pics taken.  Care, below, is grading papers for her 9th grade English class.  Neither of us enjoy having our pictures taken which is why there are so few of us.  

A look at the newest path to our home...

Flickr Tags: 3 acres, property, woods, clearing, Phase 3

Here's a look at the latest path to our home.  More is on Flickr at http://flickr.com/photos/jacara/

Clearing continuing...

Now that I've gotten a hold on the newest area - Phase 3 - I'm proceeding to get the area cleared for our RV. After cutting down a lot of small trees, I hauled them out to a clearing where I will burn them with the time comes. We looked into two rental tools that I may be able to make use of. One is a large commercial wood chipper. It rents for $115/4 hrs and, with it, I should be able to grind up most of the piles I've already cut down. This would eliminate the need to burn which, without water, is not altogether safe. The other tool is a skid tractor - I think that's what it's called. This tool is great since I don't have a tractor to do the work I need to get done. It's basically a small plow and I can use it to clear out all the remaining rose bushes that are hindering our move. The best part is it's only $150/day. I'll post pictures when I have it to use.

Tranquil Moon Phase 3

Phase 3 Property Map 11/11/2007,
originally uploaded by Jacara.

We're starting with the Blogger service to posting to our journal on the development of our new property. I wasn't happy with JournalLive's inability to do archiving in a format that I was content with, so after having made posts through Phase 1, Phase 2, and now Phase 3, we shall begin our journal anew. One day Blogger may offer an option to import blog csv files into my Blogger account and I can re-establish my time-line. Until then, we'll just have to be happy with the new system. To bring everyone up to date - everyone primarily meaning my wife, Cara, and I, since that's all I intend to please with this blog - we are purchasing 3 acres along Mission Valley Acres Rd, in Nursery, TX, near Victoria. We should be closing on the property by 11/30, but a lot of the preliminary work has already begun - the work of clearing the woods to make way for our RV. As mentioned above, I am into Phase 3 of this project.

Phase 1, designated by the blue dot, was eliminated since access to the area was extremely prohibited because of the large trees. Clearing a path would have meant taking out a group of large oaks, which I was not pleased with doing.

Phase 2, identified by the red dot, became eliminated recently after I had Victoria Electric Co-op out to give me a quote on installing electric service. The quote was $5000 and involved setting two poles plus the electric service pole and running copper some 300 yards. This would have been a good start except that it had no shade; it would have been hotter than blazes in this neck of the woods.

Phase 3, the light green dot, set us along what used to be the main road through this area before Mission Valley Acres Rd was added. There is a culvert and a road that will get us around the dry creek bed, From there it's a straight shot down the property. The clearing will involve taking out large wild rose bushes and some small trees, but no large oaks. Additionally we should have very good shade in this area since it's got a lot more trees around it. The electric service will go near where the blue dot is at, and I will run service from there to our RV no more than 150' away. With any luck, this will remain our plan until we move onto the property. We'll see.